Plants could help cool down the warming world through their own climate change response,
according to a new study. Trees and other plants are known to emit
volatile organic compounds in response to stress--heck, they even make noise--but it’s unclear whether this affects the environment.

Some aerosols--small atmospheric particles--can contribute to cooling
because they help form clouds, which reflect sunlight. The albedo
effect from increased cloud cover contributes to cooler temperatures.
But the role of plant aerosols in this process was not well understood.

To
investigate this, Finnish researchers collected data from forests in 11
locations around Earth. They measured aerosol concentrations, plant
gases, average temperatures, and the height of something called the
boundary layer, which is where aerosols and atmospheric gases mix
together.

They found that plant emissions do impact climate warming, but only
by a tiny degree. Globally, enhanced plant emissions counter about 1
percent of global warming. In forested areas where plants are
concentrated, the effect is a more meaningful 30 percent, however. That
could mean heavily treed areas--like the boreal forests of Canada,
Siberia and Finland--could warm up more slowly than heavily populated
areas in more southerly latitudes.

They do more than that, thank you. Plants INHALE CO2, and exhale Oxygen. The way to stop CO2-caused Global Warming is to PLANT TREES -- lots of trees, everywhere -- and other plants to inhale the CO2 while the trees are growing to full size. Planting lots of plants, especially trees, will do more to stop Global Warming than all the "cap and trade" and "carbon tax" schemes in the world.